Supporters say rule would close low-cost pet sterilization clinics

Wednesday

Oct 10, 2012 at 1:11 PM

Supporters of low-cost spay and neuter clinics packed a veterinarian medical licensing board meeting this morning to protest a proposed rule they say will put the clinics out of business. An overflow crowd of more than 160 people attended the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners meeting.

By Dana BeyerleMontgomery Bureau Chief

MONTGOMERY | The state panel that licenses veterinarians on Wednesday rejected a proposed rule that animal shelter supporters said would have closed low-cost spay and neuter clinics.On a voice vote, the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners unanimously killed a proposed rule that only veterinarians could own clinics that employed other veterinarians.The vote came after a two-hour public hearing that attracted more than 160 people. Eighteen spoke against the rule, and no one spoke in favor of it.The board’s president, Dr. Robert Pitman, an Athens veterinarian, referred questions to the board’s attorney, Alyce Addison. She said she advised the six board members in attendance that they didn’t have the authority to enact the rule change.“I gave a legal opinion of the board that, basically, they’d be legislating,” she said.Addison said she did not know the background of the rule or who proposed it since she had just been hired in August. A bill in the 2012 legislative session attempted to allow non-vet ownership of clinics, but the proposal died.Birmingham attorney William Mudd, representing the Humane Society in Birmingham, told board members at their morning public hearing that they did not have the authority to change state law.“It’s illegal, it’s wrong, it’s self-serving and ... it will be fought,” Mudd said. After the vote, he said he no longer had a case.The proposed rule would have required veterinarians to own clinics, not just work there performing pet sterilizations.The low-cost clinics typically are nonprofit organizations governed by boards of directors and are not “owned” by anyone, said Molly McGregor, interim executive director of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.Betty Freeman, who is on the board of the Humane Society of West Alabama, expressed relief that the board did not approve the rule.“I’m thankful for all the animals that will continue to be spayed and neutered at a low cost,” she said.The cost to have an animal spayed or neutered in a nonprofit clinic can be as low as $56, but can be more than $200 at a veterinarian’s office. The clinics usually contract with veterinarians.Alabama has low-cost spay and neuter clinics in Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile. The Birmingham clinic has transportation arrangements for pet owners in Tuscaloosa.Mark Melson, executive director of the Alabama Spay and Neuter Clinic in Birmingham, said he was relieved the rule was defeated.“Clinics provide needed services,” he said. “I’m delighted the board listened to the public and our concerns.”A recurring argument during the hearing was that if low-cost spay and neuter clinics closed, working people and the poor who do not want to increase the number of unwanted animals wouldn’t be able to sterilize their dogs and cats.The Humane Society of the United States opposed the proposed rule change, saying it will affect Alabama’s homeless pet population.“Honestly, this is all about greed,” said Tracy Colvin of Moody. “Who are these people for it? Where are they?”Pitman, in a previous American Animal Hospital Association magazine article, said the board has evidence that non-veterinarian executive directors and clinic boards of directors were allowing substandard care.Two vets testified Wednesday that there were no quality-of-care issues at low-cost clinics since licensed veterinarians make all the decisions and conduct the surgeries.Some legislators had asked the board to postpone action on the rule change until the issue could be addressed in the 2013 session of the Legislature.